Kiss the Girl
by youmuststartanew
Summary: Lindsay is a fifth year Ravenclaw whose life is turned upside down. Her family falls apart, she discovers a friend's darkest secret, and finds herself in love with a most unlikely person. But will she be able to confront him, and what will her friends think? Remus/OC, James/Lily
1. Snowballs Anonymous

_**I would just like to say thank you all for deciding to read my story. I hope you all like it. I know it's under Remus/OC, but there's also some...correction, quite a lot of James/Lily. Gotta love Jily! The story is half Remus' view and half Lindsay's (my O.C.) view. Anyway, thank you, peace, adios, live long and prosper, and enjoy!**_

_**I am not J.K. Rowling, and therefore, I do not own H.P. I do own my O.C., and my story, so please respect! Thank you!**_

_**P.S. Sorry this is so long. All the pesky little details keep coming back to me. If I get any facts or names or anything wrong, PLEASE don't hesitate to tell me! I won't take offense, but I'll do my best to correct anything.**_

Chapter 1

Remus Lupin was sitting by the lake with his best friends, James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. As usual, James and Sirius were goofing off, using their wands to make snowballs hit some unsuspecting first years. Peter was watching, laughing at every joke and every snowball that was thrown. The eleven-year-olds looked around, wondering who or what was hitting them. One of the children turned and saw Sirius flick his wand toward them, and she immediately turned and ran back into the castle. The four friends chuckled. After all, it was a harmless prank. A minute later, none other than Lily Evans stalked out of the castle, closely followed by the same little girl the boys had been messing with earlier.

"Potter!" she yelled as she pointed her wand. In an instant she was in front of the group.

"Yes Lily-flower?" James asked, using his pet name for her. He had been head over heels for this girl since first year, and his goal in life was to get her to go out with him. So far, there had been a few bumps in the road, namely that she hated his guts. He ran a hand through his messy black hair, something that managed to further annoy Lily.

"Were you throwing snowballs in Jena's face?" Jena, the girl in question, looked up at James with a smirk on her face. She had seen plenty of Lily and James' legendary fights and knew that Lily was just the person to get back at him for her.

"Possibly. Or," he said, looking nervous as moved her wand right in front of his face, "it may have been Peeves. Or Sirius. Or Remus, even. He does like pranks, believe it or not."

"Oh no. You are not dragging me into this." Remus looked up from his book with a frown on his face.

"I have no doubt that Sirius was involved. But Jena said you hit her. So," Lily replied, "It was you. And you've had this coming all week." After muttering a charm and waving her wand, Lily looked happy with her work and stomped off.

"Ok, Padfoot," he said to Sirius, "what did she do to me? I don't feel any different." The second he said it, a giant snowball came hurtling toward him and knocked him to the ground. The others erupted in laughter as they realized what she had done.

The rest of the day passed with James periodically being hit with snowballs and no way to stop it. He grumbled and complained, even as he was impressed and, as it would seem, even more in love with Lily than before.

As dinner approached, Remus grew nervous. Lily's best friend and roommate, Lindsay, would be at dinner, and he always got nervous around her. For almost as long as James had fancied Lily, Remus had felt the same for Lindsay, but no one knew. Even his friends were clueless. Today was no different, and he could feel himself start to blush just thinking about her.

"You ok there Moony?" he looked over to see Sirius staring at him. Moony was his friends' nickname for him, taken from the fact that he was a werewolf.

"Yeah, um, I'm just not feeling too great." It wasn't completely a lie. The full moon was quickly approaching, and he always felt bad beforehand. His friends were used to his skipping meals and classes so that he could rest.

Nodding, Sirius turned to James, who was in the bathroom. "Oh Jaaamsie! We had better hurry. You wouldn't want to miss your Lily-flower at dinner now, would you?"

"Why? Did she leave? Did you see her go down?" James quickly appeared in the boy's room, looking around frantically, as if looking for a clue as to Lily's whereabouts. The rest of the group laughed, and Sirius shook his head.

"Is Prongs afraid that the love of his life has gotten away?" Prongs was James' nickname, and Peter's was Wormtail. Rather fitting, since the boy looked and acted very much like a rat at times.

James threw a pillow at Sirius and the latter chucked it right back. After a brief fight in which several items in the room were thrown, and consequentially broken, the Marauders headed down to dinner.


	2. Two Kinds of Families

_**Aaaaand next chapter!**_

Lindsay sat in the Great Hall with her best friends Lily Evans, Alice Prewett, Marlene McKinnon, and Mary McDonald. Although her four friends were all Gryffindors, she herself was a Ravenclaw. She might as well have been half Gryffindor and half Ravenclaw for all the time she spent in her friends' common room and how often she ate the their table. In fact, Scarlett had very few friends in Ravenclaw. Not because they weren't nice, but because she avoided her own house more than anyone else did. That was not to say she didn't like her house of course. A house is a student's family. In Scarlett's case, her "family" was the don't-really-want-to-be-around-you-but-I-love-you kind.

"...so all day?" Lindsay had been listening to Lily tell all of her friends the jinx she had put on Potter. It was a rather inventive one, especially for what he had been doing to the first years.

"Could be longer. I've never actually used it before," Lily said with a mischievous smirk. "Potter might end up walking around all year with snowballs hitting him the face."

"I guess we'll see if he fixed it yet, here they all come." Lindsay had noticed the distinct change in most of the girls around her, and that only ever meant that James Potter and Sirius Black had arrived.

"Hello ladies!" Sirius plopped down next to Lindsay, and she gave a derisive snort. James sat opposite her, so that he could attempt to talk to Lily. Next to him sat Remus and, finally, Peter.

Meanwhile, Marlene and Mary were drooling over the boys. Alice was dating Frank Longbottom, who arrived shortly after the others, sitting next to his girlfriend and planting a kiss on her cheek. Lily was trying to avoid James' blatant attempts to woo her, while Sirius loaded his plate with as much food as humanly possible, maybe more. Remus was attempting to show Peter how to do a spell McGonagall taught in Transfiguration, and Lindsay just looked around at all her friends, smiling.

Just then, Lindsay's younger sister, Celeste, hurried up to the group. Celeste was two years younger than her sister and was in her third year. However, the younger of the two was in Gryffindor. "Mum sent us letters. I haven't read them yet, I don't know what they say." She handed over an envelope. Her parents alternated between which daughter they sent letters to, just so that there were no hard feelings. As Celeste moved further down the table to sit with her friends, Lindsay opened her letter.

_Darling Lindsay,_

_ I know I shouldn't have to tell you this in a letter, and I know it's not easy for you to hear. As you know, your mother has been ill for some time now, and over the past week she got much worse. Lin, she passed last night. I know this will be hard for you, and I'm here for you and your sister. I have to ask you to take care of her, as well. And I know that you were looking forward to coming home for Christmas, but I have to visit your mother's family for legal reasons. You know as much as I do that it may not be a good idea for you to come. And Lindsay, I did try. I really did, and I hope you can forgive me. I love you with all of my heart._

_-Dad_

As she read, her eyes gradually filled with tears, and when she finished the distraught girl fled from the Great Hall, leaving the letter behind. Sirius looked over just as she rose from her seat and was the first to reach the letter. He looked up to see everyone staring at him.

"Padfoot, what is it?" James looked over at him, the worry clear on his face. "What's happened?"

"Her mother passed last night. Aunt Selena had been sick for a while, but she was supposed to have had more time." The silence grew, and the first person to recover was Remus.

"Sirius, I'm so sorry. I know she was one of your favorite relatives."

"Thanks mate. But I think I'd better go find Lindsay." And with that he was gone.

Lindsay and Sirius were related, something like second or third cousins. Lindsay's grandfather, Marius, who was a squib, had been cast out of the Black family as a teenager. Her mother, Selena Black, had also been a squib, and her father, Avior Lutia, a muggle. It was a surprise when Lindsay discovered her powers, and another when Celeste did the same. Sirius' grandfather had been Marius' brother, although the two did not speak. When Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin, his aunt had been one of the only relatives who supported him and understood his hatred of his family. When he was younger he would often run away to her house.

As Sirius ran towards the Astronomy Tower, all he could think of was his family and how they would all be cheering. 'Another blood traitor gone', they would say. His mother would cackle and speak out against the mudbloods and blood traitors and muggle-lovers as if they were dirt beneath her feet. He ran faster, imagining that every step he ran put him further from them and could somehow detach him from his pure blood family.

Sirius came to the tower and stopped to catch his breath. Leaning against the wall, he heard crying from above him. He knew it was Lindsay, and for the first time questioned whether he should be there. Despite this, he walked up the stairs to comfort his cousin.

_**I promise, there WILL BE more of Remus and Lindsay after this. I kind of got off track a little and this is what happened. But it will happen! Thank you again for reading, and please please please review! I need to know you're all alive out there!**_


	3. Named After the Stars

_**I just caught a mistake I made in the first chapter, Lindsay isn't in Gryffindor so she can't be Lily's roommate per se. But she does bunk with them very often, so she is considered a roommate. Just thought I'd clear that up. Thanks for reviewing and following and reading! **_

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Lindsay sat on the top of the Astronomy Tower, looking up at the stars. The members of the Black side of her family were all named after stars, including her mother. Staring up at them now, Lindsay could see her mother's star, shining bright, and it made her feel like maybe a part of her mother was still with her.

Cancer, the doctors had said. Lung cancer. The diagnosis had come three years ago, and it had changed their family. Her father was a doctor specializing in cancer research, as try as he may, there wasn't much he could do. Selena went through chemotherapy and radiation, but to no avail. Even so, she was supposed to have another year at least. Magic was no help, but they went and saw every Healer they could find. There was no magical cure for cancer, just as there was no muggle cure for it either.

"Lin?" she heard a voice coming from the staircase. Sirius appeared, and she ran to him as he held his arms out. "I know, I know. It'll be ok."

They sat there for a while, watching the stars and talking about family. Around midnight they heard someone else approaching.

"What are you two doing up-. Oh, it's just you two." Remus, doing his rounds, looked at the the pair of them and sighed. "You'd better get to your common rooms. Lily's on the floor below and will come up here soon if I don't come down, and she'll take points."

"Thanks mate." Sirius turned to Lindsay, gave her one last hug, and ran down the stairs toward Gryffindor Tower. Lindsay was about to follow him when Remus spoke again.

"Lindsay, I'm really sorry for your loss. And, um, I thought you might want this back." He held out the letter from her father. She had almost forgotten that she left it in the Great Hall.

"Thank you Remus. It means a lot." Looking at her friend, she remembered something else she had forgotten. "Celeste! Oh no, no no no. Remus, I need to get into Gryffindor Tower. They changed the password today, and Lily didn't get the chance to tell me it. Please, my sister. I-I need to, to find her." The girl was in hysterics again, and Remus had no clue what to do about.

"No, don't cry!" Remus looked almost frantic, having never dealt with a crying girl before. Lindsay looked up and hiccupped. A small smile played on her lips. It was as if she found his cluelessness amusing.

"Can you take me? Please Remus?" Her eyes pleaded with him, and he knew that he had to help her.

"Ok, yes. Your sister needs you."

"Oh thank you!" Lindsay crashed into him as she gave him a hug, and Remus took a minute before awkwardly patting her shoulder. She pulled back and smiled at him, and he tentatively returned it.

As they walked down to the common room, Remus looked at the girl beside him every few minutes. He wanted to comfort her, to help her, but didn't know how. James and Sirius were the ones who could talk to girls, and Remus had never been close with any girls but Lily.

"Er…" _Wonderful way to start,_ he thought to himself.

"Yes?" Lindsay's brown eyes looked up at him, curious.

"Well, it's just, if you ever need someone, you know, to talk to...I just, er, wanted you to know that I'm here." Remus could have smacked himself in the forehead, but Lindsay just smiled.

"That's good to know. It's always nice to have a friend." His heart leapt at the word 'friend'. It was good to know that she considered him one.

When they reached the portrait of the fat lady, Remus whispered the password and they both entered. Lindsay said another quick thank you and rushed toward the girls dormitories, leaving Remus to watch her go.

* * *

Three days later, and Lindsay stood with her sister at the parish cemetery in her home town. Dumbledore had been understanding in their situation and personally escorted them back to Ireland for their mother's funeral. As she placed a rose on the grave, Lindsay felt as though all of the happiness had gone from the world. But then she turned and saw her sister, father, aunt and uncle, and remembered that she was not alone at all. She had a family and wonderful friends, and that was more than she could ever ask for.

After the ceremony, Lindsay spent the rest of the day with her father and Celeste, revisiting old memories and laughing at old jokes. Come dinner time, Dumbledore arrived to bring them back to Hogwarts. When he saw Lindsay's sadness at leaving her father again, he said, "Do not worry. Death is but the next great adventure." And it brought her a peace of mind that nothing else had that day.


	4. Always a Motive

_**Thank you all once again! Don't forget to review! I know that you're reading, I can see the numbers, so I thank you for that. I hope you all like this next chapter. It's a bit longer than my others. Without further adue, CHAPTER 4.**_

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"...ARROGANT, SELFISH TOE-RAG!"

Remus looked up as a furious Lily stormed into the common room. "Not again," he muttered to himself.

Sirius walked up next to Remus. "What'd Prongs do this time?"

"No idea. Did you hear him planning anything?"

"...possibly."

"Padfoot…"

"But it wasn't bad!"

Remus shot him a doubtful look that made the other boy's grin fade.

"Ok...so it could be considered embarrassing by some people." Sirius actually looked a bit sheepish and Remus had no doubt that the whole thing was Sirius' idea, whatever James had done.

"...FRONT OF EVERYBODY...BLOODY STARS SPELLING MY NAME…UGH!" And with that, Lily stomped up to her dormitory.

The crowd that had gathered to watch slowly disappeared as Lily's friends rushed after her and James walked over to his friends looking more than slightly annoyed.

"You said she would love it!" James stared indignantly at Sirius as he threw drooping lilies in his face.

"Ah, now there is where you are mistaken. I said any girl would love it. Lily is, obviously, not any girl." The grin on his face made James look even angrier, but after a minute he just sighed and shook his head.

"Oh well. She'll definitely say yes next time!" The cocky grin he wore was now back as he and his friends ran off to plan their next prank.

* * *

Lily stalked back and forth in her dormitory, ranting and waving her hands. "The stars, Lin, the bloody stars were spelling out 'Date me, Lily Evans?'"

Lindsay sighed. She'd been at this for half an hour, and they had two essays to write still. "I know, Lil, I was there. If you ask me, I thought it was kind of cute." Seeing the look on Lily's face, she quickly backtracked. "I mean, if it wasn't James. And it wasn't your name. If it was my name, I would like it. But only if I liked the guy. Which you don't. Like James I mean. So it actually isn't cute…right?"

For the first time since the incident, Lily smiled. "Right, Lin. It's ok if you would like it if someone did that for you. I'd be happy if someone did that for you. I mean, I would help in any way I could, except you won't tell me if you fancy anyone."

"I don't fancy anyone." Lindsay was very adamant about this particular subject. Lily and Marlene had especially been on her about a special boy, but she maintained that there wasn't one.

"There has to be _someone._ Oh! What about Erik Abbot? Isn't he in your year? He's cute, don't ya think? Or, or there's Jason...er what's his last name? Anyway, he's adorable! I mean I know he's kind of shy, but I think you two would be-" But she was cut off.

"Lily! I told you, I don't want a boyfriend and I don't need you to find one for me. I'm perfectly happy. Now, if _you_ want to go date one of them, by all means, go! I'll even help. But please, just let it go." The truth was, there was a boy. A tall, scraggly boy whose head was always in a book. But he would never notice her, Lindsay was sure of it.

Suddenly Lily spun around and stared at her as if she had grown two heads. "You _do_ fancy someone! I can see it on your face."

Attempting to wipe whatever expression she was showing, Lindsay sputtered, "I-no-you can't-my face-but-NO! No I don't fancy anyone. No one. Not a single person. Nope." She laughed nervously, which made Lily raise an eyebrow. "OK, yes, fine. But I'm not telling you who it is. Just be content with knowing that I fancy someone."

Lily burst out laughing and Lindsay stood there wondering what on earth was so funny about her liking someone. Finally, Lily settled down enough to choke out, "You're so adorable Lin. You've never had a boyfriend, you like someone, and you won't let me help?!"

And for the first time, Lindsay actually considered telling her friend. After a minute or two she had made up her mind. "Fine, but only because I want your help. I fancy…"

* * *

"REMUS!" Turning around at the sound of his name, Remus saw Lily trying to catch up with him the in corridor. He stopped and waited for her. "Where are you going? You have a free period right?" When he nodded his head, she continued. "Do you want to go to the library? I'm heading there and thought maybe you'd like to join me."

"Sure, Lily."

As they made their way to the library, Remus wondered why she had asked him to go with her. Not that he didn't spend time with Lily, but usually it was just if they both happened to be somewhere together. There had to be a reason behind it, a motive. After all, this was Lily Evans.

"So. The Hogsmeade trip is coming up. Last one before holiday. What are the marauders planning?" She seemed to be asking out of politeness, but there was an underlying tone that made Remus question her reason for asking.

"Well, Sirius has got a date. Two dates, actually. Yes, yes. I know. James, I am sure, will ask you to go. If you don't mind me saying, you could give the poor guy a chance you know." It was really too much to hope that she would agree, and he was right.

"Hm...no. What about you and Peter?"

"Peter has to go home that weekend to take care of his mother. She's not doing too well. And me, well I really don't know. I'm probably going to stay at the castle."

"You know, I'm actually going with a boy from Ravenclaw. No, I don't know his name. Blind date. Marlene, Alice, and Mary all have dates, and Lindsay doesn't have anyone to go with. I'd feel really bad if she were left _all alone_ and it'd be great if someone could go with her." Remus was right, there was a motive. Always a motive. And he wanted to go with Lindsay, really. But it was a full moon and there was no way he would be able to make it to Hogsmeade.

"Er, Lily, I know you mean well, and it's not that I don't want to, but I really can't go to Hogsmeade. And I really should be getting to work on some Transfiguration work and I realized that my book is in the common room so I'm just going to go there. I'll see you around." And with that, he rushed back the way they had come, leaving a very confused yet determined Lily behind him.

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**_Sooooo how do you like it? Any ideas? Suggestions? Comments concerns pro quos? And don't forget to, that's right REVIEW!_**


	5. Favorite Song

_**Hello all! Sorry this is a tiny bit later than the others, busy with school at the moment. I hope you all like this, thanks for reviewing and thank you for reading!**_

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The Saturday of the Hogsmeade trip dawned cold and windy. All the students traveled in groups, huddled close together to protect each other from the cold. The black lake was almost frozen over, and the Whomping Willow had icicles that, when one walked to close, were very dangerous.

Lindsay sat on her bed while watching Lily, Marlene, and Alice prepare for their dates. Mary had already departed, anxious to get to the village. Lily was going with Jason Carson, though she didn't exactly know that yet. He was a sixth year Ravenclaw and best friends with Marlene's current boyfriend, Amos Diggory. Amos was one of the most popular boys in the school, which made sense, since Marlene was one of the most popular girls.

"Lin! How do I look?" Alice called from across the room. Her short dark brown hair framed her face and her dark eyes were accentuated by a hint of eyeliner. She wore a bright blue sweater and a pair of dark jeans. On her feet was a pair of dark boots.

"Alice, you look perfect." Lindsay smiled at her. "Frank will be knocked senseless when he sees you."

Lily and Marlene emerged from the bathroom, looking amazing as always. Lily's red hair was down and in her usual curls, and she had on no makeup, which seemed to work well for her. She wore a tight green top that made her eyes stand out even more than usual. Marlene's long blonde hair was braided down her back and, unlike Lily, she wore a considerable amount of makeup. The purple blouse she wore looked perfect on her, as usual.

"You sure you don't want to go, Lin? I could find you a date." Marlene, like Lily, was always trying to find her a boyfriend.

"I'm fine Mar, now you lot go have fun!" Lindsay shooed them out the door and down the stairs.

* * *

A few hours later and the castle was practically empty. Lindsay sat in the common room doing some Ancient Runes homework. The first and second years were found scattered here and there, but everyone else was at Hogsmeade. It was for this reason that Lindsay was surprised to hear the portrait swing open as a figure came stumbling through.

"Remus!" The look on his face made Lindsay's hear break. Pain, confusion, and relief played across his face.

"Lindsay, shouldn't you...be at...Hogsmeade?" He seemed to be having a difficult time talking.

"Never mind me! Are you ok? What happened?" Lindsay rushed to help him as he stumbled again.

"Nothing happened...just sick…"

"Why didn't you go to Madame Pomfrey?"

"I will tonight." Lindsay thought she saw another flicker of pain in his eyes as he said these words.

"Fine, but you need to rest. Come on, we need to get you to your room." But when she went to help him again, he held up a hand.

"I don't need...help. I'm fine."

"You are not fine!" Seeing her friend in pain had set her off. She could be very loud and forceful when provoked. "Now you are going to let me help you!"

Her outburst shocked him into silence, and he grudgingly allowed her to lead him up to his dorm room.

Immediately, Lindsay set out to do anything that would help Remus. Stepping around the piles of clothing and trash that littered the floor, she collected a seemingly clean washcloth and wet it with cold water.

By this point, Remus was laying on his bed. Lindsay walked over to him.

"Here, put this on your forehead." She also pulled out a chocolate bar and handed it to him. "And it this. It helps."

As he took the items from her and followed her instructions, she sat down on the edge of his bed. Her mind drifted to her mother and the months of chemotherapy. She had often been in this same situation during that time. She would sit next to her mother and quietly sing to her. Only as she noticed Remus staring at her did she realize that she had begun to sing her mother's favorite song. Looking down, she also noticed that her hand was moving through his hair as she unconsciously tried to comfort him as she had her mother.

Blushing, Lindsay jumped up, but Remus kept staring at her, a smile now on his face.

"I, er, have to go. Homework to do. Feel better." And with that, she quickly rushed out of the room, wondering why he had been smiling at her.

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_**Once again, any suggestions or questions or things you would like to see happen, let me know! Thank you for reading, next chapter will be up soon!**_


	6. Danger in the Moonlight

_**Just for reference, the words in italics are Moony, and the words that aren't are Remus. Thanks for reading, favoriting, following, etc.**_

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Chapter 6

He laid in his bed the rest of the day, and when the sun began to set, he headed out to the Whomping Willow with Madame Pomfrey. The knot on the tree was hit, and he crawled inside the tunnel that would seal him off and contain Moony. Sitting there, waiting for his friends, he couldn't help but think of Lindsay. She had looked so worried for him, and when she had started to sing, he thought that maybe, just maybe, she might return his feelings.

But he was wrong. No one could love him. How could they? He was a monster. He was dangerous. And he was changing.

As flesh reformed and bones cracked, Remus slowly turned into Moony, and the wolf took over.

_Howl. Look around. Escape. Why can't I escape? He's trapped me in again. Why? I need blood. I need to get out. Out. Out. What was that? A stag and a dog and a rat. Not good enough. Don't need animals, need humans. Need to rip and tear. Need to bite. Bite myself then. Blood, I can smell it. But the animals, they're trying to stop me. Out, out. Need to get out. Window. _*CRASH* _Free. Run. Human! HOWL! Girl, the human is a girl. Need blood. _Don't want to hurt..._Need to bite. _Stop running now. _Need blood. _Sirius, come on. _The dog is running. He blocks my way. Girl is running back to castle. Boy with her now. Fight. Must fight dog. Need to bite. Need to bite. The dog is biting me. Need to get away. Back to the woods. Howl!_

Remus hated full moons.

* * *

Lindsay had left Remus' room and run back up to the girls' dormitories. She sat there for hours until her friends came back, and then she sat some more and listened to their stories and laughed when they made a joke and smiled when they talked about their dates. Lily liked Jason very much, which was more than Mary could say. The boy was "a prat" and only wanted to snog. Alice had a wonderful time with Frank, of course. Marlene was still nowhere to be found, and the girls would rather not know where she was at the moment.

Unbeknownst to Lindsay, Lily had spotted James, Sirius, and Peter all leaving the castle. Of course, they had their invisibility cloak on, but had knocked over a statue, probably because of Peter. Lily had known for two years about the cloak. The marauders seemed to think that it also blocked their voices, which was how Lily had discovered their secret.

Curiosity got the best of her and, despite the late hour, she snuck out of her dorm after the others were asleep. Creeping down the staircases from Gryffindor Tower proved more difficult than she had thought. Luckily, she remembered the trick stair, but the second to last staircase moved as she stepped onto it. Unfortunately, this led her to a corridor that Peeves was occupying. He saw her and just as he was about to yell, she told him,

"Shhhh. You'll ruin it! My first prank and you'll ruin it."

He looked at her curiously, and she grinned mischievously. To her shock, he listened to her, gave a quick laugh, and flew back where she had come from.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Lily continued to make her way to the entrance hall. Slipping out of the front door, she hurried down to the vast grounds, only to see the more horrifying sight.

A stag and a dog were running toward her from the direction of Hogsmeade. But that wasn't the scariest part. They were chasing a werewolf.

Lily gasped and froze in place. The werewolf stopped and looked at her, and for a moment she thought that he wasn't going to attack. That thought was soon proved wrong as he howled, piercing the silence of the night, and started running toward her. Before her eyes, the dog attacked the werewolf. That wasn't right, a dog would run. _Anything_ would run away from a werewolf. As the two fought, the stag advanced toward Lily. She tried to get away, frightened of the antlers that looked rather sharp, when the stag transformed. James stood in front of her, looking more scared then she had ever seen him.

"Come on Lily! _Come on!_" He grabbed her hand and started dragging her back to the castle. After a moment of shock, she regained her senses and followed him, not daring to look behind her. She heard the werewolf howl once more and then Sirius appeared beside her.

They had just reached the entrance hall when Lily collapsed, tears running down her face.

"Where'd he go?" James still looked frightened, but he was quickly regaining composure.

"Forbidden forest. Is she ok?" They both looked down at Lily, who was still sobbing and didn't appear to notice them.

James reached down to rub her back, trying to soothe her. "Shh, Lily it's ok, he's gone back to the forest. You're safe now."

Freezing at his touch, Lily turned to the two boys, eyes wide. "You are-both of you-a stag-but the dog-Sirius you-Merlin you both saved my life."

And this time to the boys' surprise, she threw her arms around both of them.

"Does this mean you don't hate me anymore?" James looked at her hopefully, though trying to hide it with a teasing tone.

"Possibly."

The three turned as they heard a sound to find Peter coming into the castle. Immediately, James and Sirius began yelling at him.

"Where were you?" "He got out, you are supposed to be helping us!" "Why weren't you there?"

But Peter just looked at the two, wide-eyed, and squeaked, "I was waiting. In Hogsmeade. You told me to." The poor boy looked like he was about to cry.

"Ok, ok Wormtail. That's right, we did say that. Don't get so upset." James sighed and turned to Lily. "You need to get back up to the common room. We have to go back out there."

She looked back and forth, from James to Sirius to Peter, and something clicked in her mind. Remus wasn't there. _Moony._

"It's Remus, isn't it?" She asked quietly, and James nodded his head. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Will he be ok?"

Sirius let out a laugh. "Love, you almost got attacked by a werewolf, and you're asking if he'll be ok?" His voice took over a more serious tone, which was very unusual. "But yes, he will be fine. Madame Pomfrey will see to him tonight."

Lily nodded her head, taking in all the new information. "Well, thank you again. I'm just going to go back up to the common room now." And she walked off, determined to visit Remus tomorrow and apologize for putting him in that position.


	7. Apology Not Necessary

_**I know I know! This is really late and I'm sorry! School is...bleh really annoying. But anyway, here you go! And I tried to make it kinda long to make up for the days I missed. Enjoy! and remember...**_

Remus scarcely remembered waking up in the forbidden forest the night before, making his way back to the Whomping Willow with the help of James, Sirius, and Peter. Once he had arrived in the hospital wing, he had passed out from exhaustion. Now, as he was waking up, he could hear two voices, both of which seemed to be yelling in whispers.

"I told you, I need to apologize!" This voice was a girl's, though Remus couldn't imagine whose.

"And I told you, he's going to feel horrible and you're not going to be helping! I should talk to him. _He doesn't need this right now."_ As Remus came to, he recognized Sirius as the one who had spoken.

And all of a sudden, pieces of the night before came back to him. Breaking a window. Running toward the castle. A frightened girl with red hair standing in front of him. As he realized what he had done, he sat straight up in his bed and practically yelled, _"Lily!"_

At the sound of her name, Lily turned toward Remus, who was seated on the bed next to her.

"Shh, Remus I'm fine, I'm fine. Relax." She rushed over to his side, despite Sirius' instructions to get out of there and go back to the Great Hall.

"You're _fine?_" Remus choked out a bitter laugh. "Yes, absolutely fine, and no thanks to me! Lily, I could have killed you. How can you sit there and even bear to look at me? You should be running for your life, not reassuring me that you're 'fine'."

"But I am fine. And it was all my fault. If I hadn't been so curious as to why James and Sirius were sneaking out-"

"No, Lily. It's not your fault. It's my fault. I'm a monster, and you should stay away from me." Remus looked down, and for a moment Lily could see the pain in his eyes, and she knew that this was exactly how he saw himself. A monster, and nothing more.

"Sirius, could you leave please?" Lily asked quietly, and the calmness in her voice spoke volumes, for Sirius obliged and slipped out of the hospital wing silently, though not without giving his friend a concerned look.

"Look at me Remus." But he kept his head down, not daring to look into her eyes. "_Look at me."_

Slowly, he raised his head so that she could see his face, covered in scars from past full moons. A shadow cast over his face, making him appear haunted, and Lily shivered despite the heat in the room.

"You are not a monster. You are Remus Lupin, a kind, sweet, smart, _brave _Gryffindor who has the most loyal friends a person could ask for. And I don't doubt for a moment that they still see you as Remus, and not as the monster you think you are. I am not going to abandon my friend because of something he cannot control. This is a part of who you are, but that's ok. You're still _you. _And you're not alone, because I'm here with you. And so are James, Sirius, and Peter. And I'm sure that Lindsay, Marlene, and Mary would say the same if you were ever to tell them." The conviction in Lily's voice made tears come to her friend's eyes, and he waited a minute before answering, being very careful of how he phrased his response.

"You... you're ok with this then? You really don't mind?" Lily shook her head, and rose to leave.

"And Remus?" He looked up at her once more. "You should know that, well, Lindsay cares for you. A lot. And if you were to tell her, she'd understand." She smiled at her friend one more time before turning and walking out the door.

* * *

Lindsay sat up in bed and yawned, sleepily looking around her. Marlene was tucked under her covers still, and Lindsay knew better than to try to wake her up. Mary was probably in the bathroom, seeing as the light was on and her bed was vacated. Lily's however...well it was still made, like she hadn't slept in it at all.

Pulling on some jeans and a jumper, she crept downstairs to the common room to find her friend sitting in one of the armchairs, staring blankly ahead of her, obviously deep in thought.

"Lils? Sweetie, you ok?" She walked up to her friend and tapped her on the shoulder. Lily jerked away, but she relaxed when she saw who it was.

"What? Oh, yes. I'm fine. Just thinking, that's all. You stay in our dorm last night?" She scooted over on the couch so that Lindsay could sit with her. It was a Saturday, so the common room was empty. Everyone was sleeping as late as possible.

"Yes, it was past curfew when I finished homework. What's on your mind? Is it Sna-Severus?" None of Lily's friends necessarily approved of her friendship with Severus Snape. It was ok when they were younger, but lately he had turned toward the dark arts, spending his time with Slytherins whose only goal was to be Death Eaters.

"Uh, yes. Yes, that's it." Lily quickly went with this theory. Remus' secret wasn't hers to tell, and she would keep it. Besides, Snape's bothering her wasn't a lie at all. "I'm just worried about his friends, you know?"

"Lily...it may be a good idea to talk to him about it." Lindsay nervously twirled her hair as she tried to show Lily that she needed to distance herself from her childhood friend. "He needs to pick either you or his friends and their...different forms of magic."

"I've tried!" the girl looked desperate. "He won't listen! He says that if I can spend my time with Potter and Black, he can spend his time with Mulciber. I just don't know what to do anymore."

"Lils...I know this is going to be hard, but you need to let him go. He's chosen his path, and unfortunately, it's one that could hurt you. You know what Mulciber and the other Slytherins think of muggle-borns."

"You're right. I need to stand up to him. I'll just...I'll just talk to him soon. But not today, I don't really need more on my plate today."

"More? What else has happened?" Lindsay looked at her friend curiously.

Lily backtracked and tried to think up an excuse. "Nothing happened...I've just...er. I've got my hands full trying to get you and Remus together!"

Lindsay groaned and stood up. "Nooo don't do anything Lily! He doesn't like me, and I don't need him knowing that I like him." She walked toward the portrait hole. "I have to go to the Hospital Wing. I told Madame Pomfrey I'd come help today. Bye!"

Being a Healer was Lindsay's goal in life and she was doing everything she could to ensure that she was able to become one after leaving Hogwarts. She had just gotten permission from Dumbledore to help Madame Pomfrey whenever it was convenient. And so she headed off to the Hospital Wing, not knowing what awaited her there.

_**REVIEW! Por favor. Thank you.**_


	8. The Start of Something

**_Wow! Ok well thanks for the response to the last chapter! So many views, so little time. I hope you all like this chapter! Remember to review!_**

* * *

Remus was laying in his bed in the Hospital Wing when he saw her. Well, he actually heard her first, which was why he was now behind the curtain he had pulled in front of him, blocking his view.

"Oh! Good. Lindsay. I'm glad you could make it. If you could just help out with these potions, I need them organized. I almost gave a student something that would turn him orange for a week!"

Madame Pomfrey was new to Hogwarts, this being her fourth year. She had trained as a Healer and come to work immediately after, knowing that she wanted to work with children. Although she seemed strict, the students who worked in or were too often in the Hospital Wing knew that she was a sweet lady.

"No problem! Do you want them in order of effectiveness, what they mend or heal, or simple vs. complicated?" Remus peeked out from behind the curtain to see Lindsay holding a few potions in her hands.

"By what they mend, thank you. I'm just going to go tend to our only visitor and I'll be back in a minute." He heard Madame Pomfrey head his way and he pretended to be asleep.

"Oh, come now! I know you're not asleep. The curtain was open a minute ago. Up up. Time for you to take this potion." Rolling his eyes, Remus reluctantly sat up and gulped down the vile potion she held out for him. The pain from his injuries began to dull immediately.

"Madame Pomfrey, I'm not entirely sure- Remus!" As Lindsay walked around towards the now visible Remus, she stopped in her tracks, a blush creeping into her cheeks. "Are you ok? Are you feeling any better?"

He blinked, wondering what she was talking about. Then he remembered that she had tended to him the night before and how she had sung to him. That would explain why her face was growing red; she was obviously thinking of the same thing.

"Er, yes. Yes, I'm feeling better. Thank you for asking." Remus looked at the ground, feeling his face turn red as well.

Madame Pomfrey looked back and forth between the two fifth years and cleared her throat. "Lindsay, what was it you were going to ask me?"

Lindsay blinked and then looked down at the potion in her hand. "Oh! I'm not sure what this does. I don't even think I've heard of it before."

As Madame Pomfrey walked over to Lindsay to explain the potion and show her where to put it, Remus breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to have to answer any more questions on his "illness", and seeing as Lindsay was interested in Healing, she was bound to start asking more questions.

* * *

"Lily-flower!" Lindsay looked up as James and Sirius walked into the common room, followed by Remus and Peter.

Lily groaned. "Not today. I do not need this today!" She turned to her friend. "Lin, could you get rid of them? Please? Do anything!"

Lindsay sighed and stood up, giving her friend a wary glance. Lily had talked to Severus again that day, and it hadn't ended well. She was upset, and to top it off, her sister Petunia had just sent her a letter saying that she shouldn't come home for Christmas.

"James, I need to talk to you," Lindsay grabbed his arm as she spoke and dragged him to the opposite end of the common room. Sirius followed them, while Remus chuckled slightly and sat in his usual chair. Peter looked back and forth between Sirius and James and Remus and decided on sitting next to Remus while periodically looking over at Lindsay and the boys.

"Lindsay, come on. I want to talk to her!" As James spoke he was craning his head to see Lily, who was purposefully reading her book, back to the group.

"Not today James. She is not having the best time right now, and she doesn't need you bothering her. There is no energy in her to fight, and if she can't fight, she might just end up crying. And you'll have done it. Do you want to make her cry, James?" Lindsay felt bad about stretching the truth this far, seeing as Lily was never really too tired to fight with James Potter. But if it was the only way to get rid of him, so be it.

"Ah, no no! Don't do it Prongs. Crying women, completely unnecessary." Sirius seemed to dislike the idea so much, and James nodded his agreement.

"Ok, ok. I don't want to upset her, you know I'd never do that on purpose." He ran a hand through his hair, sighed, and then looked Lindsay straight in the eye. "Just tell me something, is she ok?"

His sincerity was plain to see, and it took Lindsay by surprise. "She will be."

"What happened?" Sirius piped in.

"Snape and she had a fight, and Petunia is being mean. Again." At her words, James' fists clenched, and his eyes had a malicious glint in them.

"Snivelus is what made her upset?" James asked through clenched teeth.

Lindsay nodded uncertainly, wondering what she had just done. James looked about ready to kill the boy, and Sirius wasn't far behind him. Seeing this, she quickly added, "Yes, but please, don't do anything! That'll just upset her more. I don't like him any more than you two do, but you need to let them figure this out. Hopefully she'll just come to her senses, and the sooner the better."

The fire in James' eyes didn't go away, but he nodded his head and swiftly walked away, Sirius on his heals. Peter, noticing that his friends had left, scurried after them. Looking back toward Lily, Lindsay saw Remus coming toward her.

"So, what was that?"

"Oh, I don't know. But I think I just started something that I'm going to regret." And with that she walked back over to Lily, assuring her that James would leave her alone.


	9. It Is a Shame

_**I promise, I am not neglecting poor Remus! It's just that I need to lead up to something, and yes, you will see it fairly soon, but this is necessary, and it is a Lily/James fic as well as Remus/Lindsay. So bear with me ;) and please enjoy! If you liked it, please review or follow so you can find out how it ends! Nothing worse than a story that wasn't finished.**_

* * *

"Lily! Lily! Wake up! WAKE UP!" Lindsay jumped up and down on her friend's bed, attempting to rouse the sleeping girl. "It's Christmas you moron now get up!"

Groaning, the 'moron' in question slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Yea, yea. Happy Christmas to you too."

"You have presents! Don't you want to see what James got you?" Lindsay smiled as Lily's eyes grew wide.

"He didn't."

"My dear Lily-flower," Lindsay held up a card and began reading as Lily finally jumped up and chased her all around the room to get it, throwing pillows to make Lindsay stop. "My heart aches- OW! -to be so far- watch it! -and I just wish- haha missed! -to be where you are- ouch Lily that one hurt!"

The girls collapsed in the center of the room, their sides hurting from laughing so hard. Lily grabbed the card from Lindsay and opened it. "Looks more like a love note than a Christmas card. Oh wait, it does say Happy Christmas, way down in the left corner. You can see it if you squint."

The girls got to work opening their gifts. Lily gave Lindsay a book on magical creatures- she knew it was on of her favorite subjects- and a friendship necklace that would glow a soft shade of pink when Lily wasn't with her. In return, Lindsay gave Lily a photo album of pictures, magical ones of course, and some movies. Lindsay's family didn't have a TV, and although she had never seen one, she knew that Lily loved movies, and so had gone out to a Muggle store to find some. They unwrapped various other gifts from Alice, Marlene, Mary, Frank, Sirius, Peter, Remus, and, finally, James.

"What did he get you?" Lindsay attempted to peer over at Lily's gift, but she swiftly turned away. "Oh come on Lils!"

"Just hold on, I want to see it. I didn't get a good look at it...ok here." Lily held out a beautiful necklace that was the exact color green of Lily's eyes. "It's really pretty, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is very pretty. But, of course, you won't wear it." She looked at her friend with a mixture of curiosity and smugness. "Because you don't like James Potter. You despise James Potter. You abhor, detest, and resent James Potter. And of course, because you feel all of those things, you won't wear the beautiful present he purchased for you. Most especially because it just so happens that he got the color of your eyes perfect." Lindsay winked at her friend, and Lily blushed.

"Ok, yes, I suppose I wouldn't have a reason to wear it...but I don't hate him. I mean, he's an arrogant toe rag, but I don't hate him. I just think he could be so much more than he lets himself be." This confession left Lily slightly out of breath for how fast she let the words spill out of her mouth. She looked up at her friend who was gaping at her, surprised that she had weaseled it out of Lily at last.

"Wow Lils. So, er, since you don't hate him...do you like him? I mean, would you consider him a friend?"

"Well, I suppose that since I don't hate him and I spend time, although unwillingly, with him often, that would make him my friend. Wouldn't it?" Lily looked confused and a little scared by the prospect of having James as a friend.

"I never thought I would see the day that Lily Evans admitted to being friends with James Potter. And, may I add, it's ok to wear jewelry that your friend gives you. It's actually encouraged!" With this last statement, Lindsay put her new necklace on and offered to help Lily with hers.

When both girls had their new jewelry on and had changed into pants and jumpers they made their way down to the deserted common room. Most of the castle had gone home for the holidays, including all of their friends. Lily had taken Petunia's request to heart and decided not to bother her sister. Her father had passed away the year before, and her mother was on her own vacation in Africa. Lindsay was giving her father some space while he handled her mother's side of the family. Celeste had gone home with one of her friends, thus leaving Lindsay to stay at the castle with Lily.

"Oh my gosh! Lindsay I wasn't even thinking. What did Remus get you?" Lily had been staring off into space for the past few minutes while Lindsay began a new book. Then holding up said book, Lindsay told Lily that Remus had gotten it for her. "That's nice! He knows you like reading."

Lindsay nodded, absorbed in her book. She had barely registered what Lily was saying. The two drifted back into silence until it came time to head to the Great Hall for breakfast. Every year, Hagrid, the grounds keeper, would bring in dozens of huge Christmas trees. With the help of the teachers and house elves, the Great Hall was decorated from floor to ceiling in garlands and ornaments.

As Lindsay and Lily sat down at the Gryffindor table, two owls swooped down to drop off two letters in front of them.

"Who is this from?" Lily tore the letter open after giving the owl a pat. "Oh. It's from James."

_Lily-flower! I hope you enjoyed my gift. I mean, I know it's the perfect gift, so I know you must have liked it a lot-_

_**Prongs if she liked it then this isn't helping anything. Lily, ignore the prat. What he is saying is that he hopes you liked it and that he hopes that you thought it was a kind gesture-**_

_Ignore me? Ignore Moony. But yes, I hope you liked it._

_-James_

"What'd he say?" Lindsay looked over Lily's shoulder. After reading the letter she said, "Ah. Well that's nice."

"Who was yours from?" Lily tried to see the letter in her friend's hand, but Lindsay held it away.

"I haven't read it yet! Hold on." Her eyes followed each line, growing more worried and confused and finally, devastated. "Lily, I don't want to talk about it right now. I-I have to go somewhere, somewhere quiet."

Lily nodded, understanding that her friend wanted some time to think. She stood up from the bench. "I'll meet you in the common room later, yeah?"

"Yeah. I'm just going to go to the library." As Lindsay made her way out of the Great Hall and up to the library, her mind raced. When she arrived at her destination, she sat down in a chair in the corner and read the letter again and again and again.

_Lindsay Lutia,_

_ I have been informed that I am responsible for letting you know that your muggle father, Avior Lutia, was killed while visiting your mother's distant relatives. It is a shame that you should lose your father. We ask that you do not further contact us. I have not contacted your sister, and I assume you shall at the correct time._

_-Walburga Black_

Lindsay wasn't sure how to react. Both of her parents, her dear, beloved parents, gone within months of each other. That the news should come on Christmas was absolutely horrible, and Lindsay was sure that Mrs. Black had planned it that way. As she let the tears fall strong and steady, she wondered what she was going to do. How was she going to tell Celeste? Where were they going to stay? There were several cousins that might take them in. Andromeda was very nice- oh but she had just gotten engaged to Ted Tonks. That wouldn't work; she would be a burden. Sirius was the only other decent family member, but he lived with his mother, Walburga Black, who had happened to send her the letter. In their minds, Lindsay was no more family than Lily was.

There was one possibility. Lindsay remembered her mother telling her of an aunt she had. According to her mother, this aunt was very kind and did not think little of her just because she was a squib. Dorea, her name was. But Lily had never heard her say her last name. That was it then. All Lindsay had to do was find this Dorea, who had been much younger than her grandfather. Lindsay had said that Dorea was maybe five or ten years older than herself.

Lindsay left the library, her task propelling her forward. She would find this aunt; she had to.

* * *

_**I hope you guys liked it! I'm actually not sure what year Sirius went to live with the Potters, but I think it was around fifth year so I'm just going with that. Any ideas, questions, comments, concerns, just let me know! Next chapter will be up as soon as possible! **_


	10. A Question to Ask

_**Wow guys! Thanks for reading! The response was absolutely wonderful. So I did notice one thing I said wrong last chapter. Dorea was five or ten years older than Lindsay's mother, not Lindsay. ENJOY!**_

* * *

The following days were torture for Lindsay. She didn't contact Celeste; it would just ruin her holidays. Lindsay resolved to tell her upon her arrival at Hogwarts. The issue of finding the elusive Aunt Dorea was proving quite difficult. Not knowing her last name made the task almost impossible, especially because she could not contact any family to ask them. Lindsay didn't want to bother Sirius on his vacation. Asking him was a last resource, and only if she could do it in person.

Pacing her own dormitory, Lindsay tried to think of something to do to keep her mind off of her father. The horribleness of what had happened had dawned on her the day after Christmas. It seemed like she had been in denial or survivor mode the day before. Lily had tried to talk to her, but Lindsay shut her out. She didn't want to talk to anyone, and she didn't want to admit that she had lost one of her last family members. After Lily had found her the sixth time, she retreated to the Ravenclaw common room knowing that Lily wouldn't be able to get in.

Tears wouldn't help her, she had decided that the previous day, so there was no point in crying her eyes out. She had finally sat down and mourned her father a few days after the news had arrived. Soon the students would be flooding through the school and she would have to begin preparations for her O.W.L.S. Life would have to continue, and it would have to start with her letting her friends know what had happened.

* * *

Lindsay walked up to the Gryffindor's common room entrance and stood there for a good five minutes before plucking up the courage to face them. Muttering the password, she walked forward and into the common room. The second she had entered the room, she heard the shouts.

"Lin!" "Thank Merlin!" "LINDSAY!" "She's alive!" The last one had come from Sirius, along with a smirk.

Lily, Marlene, Mary, Alice, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all ran toward her, taking turns hugging her. Her four girl friends attacked her, followed by James and Sirius in the same manner. Remus gave her a quick hug, and Peter barely touched her, but it was a hug none-the-less.

"Hello." She gave them all a quick smile and looked at her feet.

"Lindsay...what happened? What was in that letter?" Lily gently took her friend's hand and lead her over to where they had all been sitting.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up once again and saw the concern on their faces. "The letter was from Mrs. Black." Sirius eyes widened and then turned suspicious. "She wanted to _inform_ me that my father died while visiting my mother's family." No matter how much she wanted to cry, Lindsay was adamant. She would not shed a tear. Not in front of anyone. "I'm not to contact her, and I still have to tell my sister."

"Lindsay…" Mary and Marlene both rushed forward to hug her. Alice had started crying, and Peter had as well. Remus was looking at Lindsay with an expression she couldn't discern. Lily was looking down, and James looked like he was thinking very hard. But it was Sirius who caught Lindsay attention: he looked murderous.

"My mother said that?" Sirius' eyes blazed. "Not that it surprises me. She always was like that. No feeling, not caring for anyone who wasn't pureblood and proud of it."

He stood to leave, and as he stalked back toward his dormitory, Lindsay called after him. Turning, his eyes held more hatred than Lindsay could imagine.

"Sirius...there's one more problem. I, er, don't have anywhere to go. I'm trying to find family that would be willing to take me in; I couldn't ask one of my friends to take both me and my sister." She bit her lip, deciding whether to continue. "And...well my mother had mentioned an aunt of hers when I was little. If my mother's descriptions are accurate, this aunt, Dorea was her name, would probably be in her 40s now. I don't know her last name. Do you know who it is? And how, and if, I could contact her?"

Sirius seemed to be debating something, but when he answered, he sounded very sure of himself. "I don't know of any relatives named Dorea. I could ask though. I'll let you know." And he walked to his dormitory without a backward glance.


	11. What is Family For?

_**I know, this and the last one were kinda short, but I didn't want to put them together, it'd be too much. So, once again, enjoy! Thank you all for reviewing and following and favoriting!**_

* * *

Lindsay spent the next few days wondering why Sirius was avoiding her. After going over all possible reasons and outcomes, she decided that her cousin knew who she was looking for. Yet he didn't tell her. A week passed, and she was still no closer to finding out.

One thing she had done was told Celeste what had happened. At first, her sister didn't believe her. Celeste called her a liar and hid from her for two days before accepting the situation and apologizing. Being headstrong was something Celeste had inherited from their mother, where as Lindsay had gotten her shyness and quiet demeanor from her father. It was not surprise when Lindsay was sorted into Ravenclaw and an even lesser one when Celeste was placed into Gryffindor.

After a two hour study session with Lily and Mary, Lindsay sat in the library, packing up her books.

"Lindsay?" she spun around, shocked to hear that voice in the library. It was nothing short of a miracle.

"James? What are you doing in here?"

He shifted his feet, obviously out of his zone in the book-filled room. "Er, looking for you actually. Can I walk to up to the tower?"

Giving him a puzzled expression, Lindsay shook her head 'yes'. As they began their way up to the common room, James tried to think of a way to say what was on his mind.

"Sirius talked to me about your situation." He glanced over and, seeing that she was paying full attention, continued. "You're looking for a Dorea? Your mother's aunt? May I ask...who was your grandfather?"

"Um…" Lindsay went over the family she knew in her head. Her mother had been Marius Black's son. Marius had several siblings, but never spoke to them. Marius had a younger sister: Dorea. She was born much later than Marius, making her at least 15 years younger. "My grandfather on my mother's side was Marius Black."

James stopped Lindsay walked several steps past him before noticing.

"That's what I thought. Lindsay...my mother's name is Dorea. Dorea Potter, but it was Dorea Black. Her brother was Marius Black."

Lindsay's eyes widened. No, that wasn't possible. That would make her James' second cousin. She was more closely related to James than to Sirius. When she didn't respond, he continued.

"Sirius and I just worked the whole thing out the other day. See, there is a family tree in his house, but some names are burned out. I guess you know that your grandfather was one of them. His family wasn't added on to the tree, so no one knew. I just didn't put two and two together to figure out that we're cousins. I guess I should have known though, since I'm distantly related to Sirius."

"Er, yeah, that's...well that's interesting. I have more family than I thought." Letting out a strained laugh, Lindsay turned to continue walking.

"Wait, Lindsay, hold on. Like I said, Sirius told me what you're going through. No parents, no house. So I talked to my parents, and they said, if you want, you and Celeste could stay with us. My mother was delighted. 'The more family the better' I believe is what she said."

"Really? Merlin James, thank you!" Lindsay rushed forward and, abandoning her books, gave James a huge hug that almost knocked him over.

As the two steadied themselves, he laughed and she joined in. "No problem. After all, what is family for?"

"Oh!" Lindsay suddenly remembered her sister. "I have to go tell Celeste! Come on!"

The two ran the rest of the way up to the Gryffindor common room, laughing the entire way.


	12. The Task At Hand

_**Hello everybody! I know, there is no excuse. This chapter is late. Bit of writer's block this week. If anyone has any suggestions/requests, I'm all ears! ENJOY!**_

* * *

"No." Lily shook her head defiantly.

"Just this one-" Marlene began.

"Nope."

"Lily, you might have fun if you-" Mary chimed in.

"Not happening."

"Lils! Could you just-"

"Nope." Lily wasn't even listening at this point, her head stuck in a textbook.

O.W.L.S. were the next week, and Lily had spent every possible second studying and practicing spells. When she got like this, none of her friends could distract her. Finally the three of them had sat her down and tried to convince her to put down a book and go to Hogsmeade with them. It was the last trip of the year, but their friend was resilient.

"Lily Evans! You listen to me right now!" Everyone turned to stare at Alice, who was covering her mouth and looking shocked herself. "I- wow. Sorry, lost it for a minute. But really Lily, you need to put the book down and take a break."

"Ok, ok fine. Yes, you're right." Lily sighed and placed her book back in her bag. "But only if you can convince Lindsay to go as well."

"But she's worse than you!" Marlene slumped down onto her bed.

"Well thanks," Lily replied with clenched teeth.

"Marlene meant that she studies more and is even more obstinate about it," said Mary.

"Lily, you know that you're the only one who could convince her to come. Please? It's the last trip this year." Alice had a talent of almost always getting her way, especially with Lily and especially when she said 'please'.

"Even Lily won't be able to distract Lindsay from studying for O.W.L.S. They're much more than ordinary exams." Marlene, once again being the pessimist of the group, said.

"Oh…" Lily's face clouded over and she had a smile on her face that none of the girls were happy about. That face always meant that Lily had a plan. "I may not be able to convince her, but I know someone who can. I'll meet you guys in the Entrance Hall in half an hour."

* * *

"Lily! What are you doing in here?" Remus looked up from the book he was reading to stare at Lily, who had just walked into his dormitory.

"Oh...you know…" she put off actually answering as she looked around to make sure he was alone. Finding that he was indeed the only one in the room, she continued, "Good. I'm here about Lindsay."

Remus' eyes went wide and his cheeks began to turn red. "Er, why, exactly?" His mind was racing, coming up with different reasons for why she was there.

"She won't leave her room. I mean, I don't think it's that bad, I wouldn't leave mine either for a while, but the others figured that since it's our last trip to Hogsmeade this year, we had to go."

"Wait, why won't she leave her room?" Remus' confusion was very amusing, and Lily tried hard not to smile.

"She is studying for O.W.L.S. I know, it doesn't sound that crazy, but I've been assigned the job to get her to come to Hogsmeade."

"Oh, ok." As he looked back down at his book, another thought seemed to occur to him. "Why do you need to talk to me then?"

"I need help. Your help."

"I was afraid of that."

* * *

"Thank you so much Jason!" Lily ran into the Ravenclaw common room. It was far too difficult to enter that common room without the help of a Ravenclaw. Remus walked in behind her, obviously less excited about the task at hand.

After Lily had asked for his help, Remus had asked her why he should help. To his embarrassment, Lily had informed him that she knew about his fancying Lindsay, though she had really just taken a huge risk in saying so. To her relief and his annoyance, there was no denying it.

So Remus was in Ravenclaw Tower, warily watching Lily as she ran up to get Lily. His involvement in this made him nervous. All he had to do was convince her to come, but why she should listen to him, he didn't know.

Lily had been careful to not give any hint at Lindsay's feelings, and she wasn't about to tell her friend either, having already promised Remus that she wouldn't say a word. Like being a werewolf, fancying Lindsay was his secret and his to tell.

Stopping at the foot of the stairs, Remus tried to see if Lindsay was coming down. If not, there was no way for him to convince her. The shouts of two girls and a slamming door could be heard as Remus slowly backed away. Lily came storming down the steps. The steam coming from her ears was almost visible.

"Lily?" Hearing her name, she rounded on Remus, who held up his hands as if surrendering. "I can't do anything if she won't come down. I can't go up, remember?"

"Oh, you're going to do something all right." Lily turned around and muttered a number of spells that Remus couldn't hear. "Go on up."

"You-you know the counter-curse?" Remus looked at his friend incredulously.

"Oh please. I figured out the counter-cures two years ago. The only one my friends that doesn't know it is Marlene. We just couldn't risk that. Now go!"

Remus swallowed and looked at the now ominous staircase. Lily gave him a semi-reassuring nod, but seeing as she was still mad, it came out as a grimace. Turning back, Remus began to make his way up to the Lindsay's dormitory.


	13. OK Then

_**I just re-read my last chapter...wow I must have been tired. So many grammatical mistakes! I am kicking myself for it. So please excuse those. Thanks for the reviews! They mean so much. Thank you for following, favoriting, reading, and ENJOY!**_

* * *

Lindsay looked up from her book when she heard a knock on her door. Slamming the book shut, she stalked over. "Lily, I told you, I'm not going. You cannot bribe me. Just because Remus is going is no reason for me-"

But Lindsay, who had just opened the door, abruptly stopped talking. It wasn't Lily who was standing there, as she had thought. It was Remus.

The two of them stood awkwardly for a moment, both looking at the ground, attempting to hide the blushes that had appeared on their faces.

"Er-"

"I didn't-" Remus looked up and gave Lindsay a quick smile. "It's ok, you first."

"Well, I mean...er- how did you get up here?"

In every house, even in wise old Ravenclaw, the stairs up to the girl's dormitories were enchanted. Only girls could go up, and none of the boys in the school had figured out a way to break that enchantment. Their frustration at this was only made stronger by the fact that the girls could enter the boys dormitories at any time; there was no enchantment on their stairs.

"Lily knows the, um, the counter-curse."

"Right, of course." Another awkward moment passed. "Do you, er, want to come in?"

Nodding his head, Remus ducked into the room, tripping on a rug as he entered.

As far as dormitories go, Lindsay's was not very decorated, seeing as she spent most of her time with the Gryffindors. Her bed was neatly made, light blue sheets and blankets, with her trunk shoved under the bed frame. A few books were scattered around her area of the room, and a moving picture of her family was stuck on the wall adjacent to her bed. However, Lindsay's roommates made quite a mess. Clothes were thrown all about the room, mismatched shoes could be found every few feet, and bits and pieces of jewelry were on desks all around the room.

Lindsay saw Remus eying the mess and clarified, "It's never this messy. They had a bit of a hard time deciding what to wear to Hogsmeade. It'll be clean by tomorrow if I have anything to say about it."

Remus, who was slowly regaining his usual attitude, laughed with her. She cleared off a seat, which had a pile of different color tank tops on it, and gestured that he should sit.

"So," Remus cleared his throat. "About Hogsmeade…"

"Oh, not you too!" Lindsay plopped down on her mattress. "Lily already tried to get me to go. Just let me be."

Remus held up a hand as if to quiet her and continued, "No, no I'm not trying to make you go. I just want to know why you're not going."

Lindsay looked at him intently, searching for the lie that wasn't there. In fact, Remus himself wasn't planning on going to the village that day. When Lily had asked him to convince Lindsay, all he had seen was an opportunity to talk to her.

"Well," she finally said. "I have to study for O.W.L.S…"

"And that's all? That's the only reason you've decided to turn down your friends is to study for the exams that even I know you're prepared for?" Remus raised an eyebrow at her.

"I thought you said you weren't trying to convince me to go," Lindsay accused as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh, I'm not. I am simply presenting you with facts. I know you're ready for the exam. Fact one. Your friends will miss you if you don't go. Fact two. This is the last trip of the year. Fact three. So, without using O.W.L.S. as an excuse, give me a reason for not going."

"Are you going?" Her tone was one of curiosity and shyness, not of accusation.

"Well, no, I'm not, actually."

Lindsay was silent for a few moments, frowning in Remus' general direction. She sighed, and said in her usual, quiet voice, "Why?"

"James and Sirius have dates, and Peter had to go home to help his mum. She's sick at the moment." As embarrassing as it was, Remus had to continue. "I, er, don't have anyone to go with, really."

"Ok. Yes, that makes sense."

Lindsay turned around, not sure what to say. She desperately wanted to ask him if he would like to go with her, but her shyness won out.

"Lindsay?"

Remus had stood up and walked toward her while she debated with herself. _It's worth a shot_, he thought to himself, and said, "Would you want to go with me? I mean, if you want to go with Lily that's fine, I'll just stay here and-"

"Yes."

"Yes? Yes you'll-you'll go with me?"

Lindsay smiled at the dumbfounded expression on his face and said once again, "Yes. I'd love to."

"Um, ok then.

"Ok then."


	14. Just Something I Overheard

_**I would just like to take this time to thank all the people I can. OK so a huge thank you to FrogizZ94, Lavender-wash, ChocolateIsKryptonite, dragonmia, and MissAtomicBomb13 for reviewing. Thanks to ChocolateIsKryptonite, Lavender-wash, Mudbloodgirl55555, PhoenixE27119812, WolfpackxxSister, and dragonmia for favoriting. And thank you to AIWOUATfan99, Alive Through Writing (LOVE your user name), ChocolateIsKryptonite, D.A Member77, FrogizZ94, GoldenKeeper2567, Hummelberry94, JJdracula, LEXA14, Lavender-wash, PhoenixE27119812, ProveYouExist (love your user name btw), TheEvilPinkCupcake, WolfpackxxSister, , crazyreader2011, dragonmia, passingwhisper, randomtastic7, and thosewatermelonsmiles for following! EXTRA BIG THANKS TO ChocolateIsKryptonite, FrogizZ94, Lavender-wash, and dragonmia for doing all three!**_

_**Now that that's out of the way, ENJOY!**_

* * *

After agreeing to meet up with Remus in twenty minutes, Lindsay shut the door and sank back down onto her bed. While vaguely hearing Lily's protests as Remus tried to get her to leave, a smile spread across Lindsay's face. It wasn't exactly perfect, but she was going to spend time with Remus, which was more than she had done before. But as Lindsay rushed to get ready, something much more serious was happening in another part of the castle.

* * *

Lily stomped back towards the Gryffindor common room with Remus close behind her. Although it was she who had originally wanted to stay at the castle and study, Lily had been sure that her friend could be persuaded by Remus. However, despite her constant badgering, Remus refused to tell Lily what he or Lindsay had said. She was just about to turn around and ask Remus, once again, what her friend had said when she heard hushed voices from an empty classroom. Turning around to gesture to Remus to be quite, she carefully walked over to the doorway. What she saw almost made her give away her position. Severus was standing with Mulciber and another Slytherin Lily didn't know. Between them was Regulus Black. Sirius' brother was a few years younger than Lily.

She strained to hear their voices and what they were saying when she heard Remus gasp. The group in the classroom immediately became silent as they looked toward Lily, who had been pulled backward by Remus. As they ran back the way they had come, Lily looked over her shoulder to see three black cloaks retreating into the darkness.

Gasping for breath, the two stopped only when they entered their common room.

"What-did you-hear?" Lily looked frantically at Remus, searching for some sign that Severus hadn't been doing something wrong. Another thought occurred to her. "And...how did you hear it?"

"Let's start with the second question. Werewolf," he said in a hushed voice, pointing to himself. "My senses are very good, to say the least."

"How could I have forgotten that? It was in one of the essays I wrote…" Lily frowned at herself. "And since your senses are so good, you heard what they were saying. What was it Remus?"

"Lily...I don't think you want to know." Remus' face was one of guilt, though Lily couldn't think of a reason for that.

"Maybe not, but I need to."

Remus sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "They were talking about Voldemort. And how they agreed with his views on...er, muggle-borns. Mulciber said...well he said that he was going to join him."

"And Severus?"

"Him too."

Lily let out a quiet sob and sank down into one of the armchairs. "I need to-to talk to him. He'll listen to me. He, he has to."

"Lily…" Remus wavered between saying what needed to be said and letting her believe her own words. "He was talking against muggle-borns, and well, that's you. The words he used were not kind."

That instant, Lily's head snapped up, as if she had sensed something out of place. Remus spun around and wished he had been paying attention earlier.

James was standing at the bottom of the boy's staircase looking confused and angry.

"Moony. I thought you weren't doing anything today." James' words came out stiff. "I came back for the cloak."

"Yes, well, as you can see, I ended up doing something. Lily wanted help getting Lindsay to go to Hogsmeade." He gave James a pointed look, trying to convey that there was nothing going on. "We just saw-"

"No!" Lily quickly glared at Remus before turning to James. "James, I thought you had a date?"

"Yes...I, er, did." The boy in question ran a hand through his already ruffled hair, distracted for the moment. "It didn't go as planned. I mean maybe if _you_ don't have plans you'd want to go with me."

"As a date?"

James nodded, a hopeful expression in his eyes.

"Then no. But I will go with you as a friend."

"That's ok, I figured- wait did you just say you'd go?" James looked at her, bewildered.

"But just as friends! Don't get too excited."

"Considering that I didn't know we were friends, I think that's good for me." Giving her a wide smile, he turned back to Remus. "You'll be ok here, mate?"

Remus replied, "Have fun Prongs. But not too much fun." He gave his friend a warning smile before turning to go to his dormitory.

Lily grabbed her cloak as she and James exited the common room, only to come back in a minute later under the pretense of grabbing the wand she "forgot".

"Remus!" she yelled in a whisper. He turned around to see her glare once again. "I swear if you tell him about Severus you will regret it." And she stomped back toward the portrait hole, leaving an anxious Remus behind.


	15. Inexcusable Mistake

Lindsay stood at the front door, nervous and excited, but also feeling somewhat silly. After all, this wasn't a date, right? Remus had only asked her to be nice, she was sure of it. They were friends, and it was normal for friends to go to Hogsmeade together. Hearing footsteps, Lindsay jumped behind one of the suits of armor that were scattered around the castle. James and Lily were walking down the corridor together...wait what? _'Lily would never go anywhere with James.'_ Lindsay thought. What was she doing?

Meanwhile, Remus sat in his dormitory, confused and worried. The incident with Snape had rattled him, much more than he would ever let on. He paced his room for a long while, thinking. After he had completely worn himself out, Remus collapsed onto his bed and fell into a deep sleep.

An hour later, Lindsay had given up any hope that Remus would suddenly appear, a perfectly acceptable excuse as to why he was so late. She walked back up to her dormitory, determined to keep a straight face until reaching the sanctuary of her own bed. Unfortunately, she ran into one of the last people she wanted to see: Sirius.

It was only mid-day, and everyone who went to Hogsmeade waited until they had to come back to the castle to leave. If Sirius was back early, it either meant that he was avoiding someone, planning a prank, or needed to see someone. Lindsay knew this, and desperately hoped, for the first time, that he was here to pull a prank and wouldn't notice her. She attempted to subtly turn around and walk back the way she had come.

"Lindsay!" At the sound of her voice, she froze and slowly turned around to see Sirius jogging to catch up with her. "Wait up!"

"What is it Sirius?" Lindsay meant for her voice to seem irritated and impatient, but it came out somewhat squeaky and quiet.

"Well I was-love, are you ok?" He then made a show of looking at her face very closely, as if the answer would be written on her face. "Something's not right."

"I'm fine." Her voice came out stronger this time. "What do you want?"

"Listen, if you want me to leave, just say so." A look of defiance and a bit of hurt came into his eyes as he said this.

"My opinion didn't stop you from avoiding me before, has it?"

The frown on Sirius' face deepened, but the expression in his eyes changed entirely. Where as he looked annoyed before, Sirius' face was one of regret.

"Lin-" But she wasn't done.

"No, let me talk for a moment, please. All I did was ask you for information on a family member. I don't understand why you've been so distant Sirius! It makes no sense! So if you can't give me an explanation or, or some kind of reason, then I don't want to hear it." Lindsay started her speech with anger, letting all of her frustration from the last few weeks, and especially the past hour, out in her words. But about halfway through, she began to break down and cry.

"I'm sorry." Sirius' expression was somewhat distant, as if he was reliving something painful. "I have a reason, I do. I just, well I wasn't quite ready to say anything. And I'm still not, really, but I owe it to you."

Lindsay wanted to interrupt him, to let him know that he didn't have to tell her if he didn't want to. But he was right; he owed her an explanation. So she stood there, waiting for Sirius to continue.

Sirius stood in front of Lindsay, wondering just how he could tell her this without seeming weak and childish. The only thing he could think of was to act cocky, as if his ego was as big as everyone thought it was. So he stuck a smirk on his face and pretended to be indifferent.

"I got into a fight with my mum. Regulus...well I argued with him and my whole family got involved. No big deal. But it had me off for a few days. I'm fine now though. And I really am sorry for ignoring you."

But Lindsay didn't believe him for a second. She could see the hurt her cousin was hiding and knew that this fight was worse than any had been before. And, knowing him as she did, she knew not to push the issue. Instead, she walked over to him and held out her arms.

Sirius smiled and accepted the hug. "So does this mean you forgive me?"

Lindsay gave an over-exaggerated sigh and laughed. "Yes, I suppose I forgive you. And," she backed up so that she could look at him, "thank you. For talking to James."

"Am I the best cousin ever?" Sirius winked at her and Lindsay pretended to consider this question.

"Well, James is my cousin too...not sure if you can live up to that," she stated in a teasing voice.

Sirius put a hand to his forehead, acting hurt. "Oh, that wounded me."

As the two walked to Gryffindor Tower, Sirius joked around some more. Lindsay laughed, but her mind began to drift back to Remus. Whatever his reason was, she decided it didn't matter. What had happened, had happened. There was no use in worrying about it, and Lindsay wasn't ready to listen to whatever he had to say. She was dealing with too much already.

Sirius and Lindsay parted ways in the common room, Sirius going up to their dormitory and Lindsay climbing the steps to Lily's.

Remus woke up a few hours later to the sound of James and Sirius' discussion.

"I don't know what's up. She just seemed off."

James turned his head toward Sirius, contemplating this last comment. Remus shook his head, trying to think of who they were talking about.

"Moony, you don't know why Lindsay's acting weird, do you?" Sirius was the first to notice that Remus had awoken.

Remus' eyes widened and he inhaled sharply. _Lindsay_. "Crap!"

His outburst startled James and Sirius, who then proceeded to throw questions at their friend. But Remus didn't stop to listen. He ran out of the dormitory and down the stairs, desperate to find Lindsay and explain. Only when he was at the bottom of the steps did he stop to think.

Was there an excuse for his behavior? _No,_ Remus thought. _And Lindsay is better off without me_. He continued walking, but instead of walking toward Lindsay, Remus walked toward the library. He needed to get away from his friends; he wasn't ready to tell them about how he had behaved.


	16. Mudblood

All of the words in italics are J.K. Rowling's. I thought the best dialogue would be the original. I did put in the descriptions, as they are in Lindsay's point of view.

ALSO! Huge thanks to ChocolateIsKryptonite for all the support! You should definitely check out her story Going Unnoticed. It's awesome.

Without further adue, ENJOY!

* * *

Lindsay sat in the middle of the Great Hall, staring down at her parchment. The exam portion of her Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.S was just about done, and she was scanning her answers to make sure they were correct, hoping her studying had paid off. After her professor called that time was up, she grabbed her quill and stood up. The students filed out of the hall, most of them heading outside. Lindsay was about to catch up to Lily when she realized that she had left her bag next to her desk.

As she walked out of the castle, Lindsay noticed a crowd forming around a group of people. Normally she would have walked past, but she heard Lily's voice and began to run toward her friend.

_"Let him down!"_ Lindsay heard her friend scream. She tried to shove past a group of Hufflepuffs that stood at the edge of the scene. And then, looking up, she saw Snape, hanging in the air by his ankle.

As she finally made it to the center of the circle, Lindsay saw James Potter with his wand pointed toward Snape. Sirius, Peter, and Remus all stood to one side of him. Lily stood across from James, glaring at him with more anger than Lindsay had ever seen.

_"Certainly,_" Lindsay heard James reply. And with a wave of his wand, Snape fell to the group at his feet before quickly getting up and pointing his wand at James.

_"Petrificus Totalus!"_ Sirius smirked as his spell hit Snape, causing him to cease moving.

But Lily was not any happier. In fact, she looked even angrier. As she took her wand out, she shouted, _"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"_

Lindsay looked at James and saw that he looked rather nervous with a wand pointed at him.

What was wrong with these boys? James knew Lily was friends with Snape. If he wanted to impress her, why torment her friend? And Sirius. He knew what James was getting into, he was much too smart to not have seen something like this coming. Why did he let James do it anyway?

_"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you,"_ James did look rather hesitant to hex her. Lindsay wanted to scream at him. Who was stupid enough to threaten Lily Evans?

_"Take the curse off him, then!"_

As James performed the counter-curse he said,_ "There you go. You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus-"_

But James never got to finish, for Severus interrupted him with the worst thing he could have possibly said._ "I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"_

_Lily blinked._ Lindsay could see the hurt in her eyes that she tried to hide, but there was anger there, so much anger._ "Fine," she said coolly. "I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus."_

Lily looked as though she were going to turn, but James had to open his big mouth again.

_"Apologize to Evans!" James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him._

_"I don't want you to make him apologize," Lily shouted, rounding on James. "You're as bad as he is."_

_"What?" Yelped James. "I'd NEVER call you a- a- you-know-what!"_

_"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can- I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK."_

Lily spun around on her heels and stalked off, back toward the castle. Lindsay shot one disapproving look toward the boys before following her friend.

* * *

Remus watched as Lindsay ran after Lily with a heavy heart. Why hadn't he done anything? James might've listened to him. He had known deep down that it wasn't right; they shouldn't have teased Snape like that, even if he did call Lily a Mudblood. Remus had condoned the behavior because of what they had heard last week. He should have known Lily wouldn't see that when she looked at Snape, that she would only ever see her childhood friend.

Until now, at least. And Lindsay would never forgive him, he was sure of that.

Remus heard James groan in frustration as he kicked the tree that stood near the lake. Sirius had tried to calm him down, but that had failed spectacularly.

"What am I going to _do_?!" James shouted to no one, but the boys had given up answering.

Peter sat down a few feet away from his friend, looking worried and a little distant. Sirius was glaring the ground, ripping the offending pieces of grass. Remus was pacing, as he often did, upset and worrying about Lily and Lindsay.

Not once did any of them think of Snape, who had followed Lily up to the castle.

* * *

In lonely dormitory in the vacant Gryffindor tower in the castle of Hogwarts sat a very sad, lonely, melancholy Lily Evans with her best friend, Lindsay Lutia. They stayed in that room for hours, gradually joined by their other friends. Mary burst into the room, crying herself, when she had heard what happened, followed shortly by Alice. Marlene almost broke the door down when she came in with a fire in her eyes.

"How dare he! He is going to pay, they all are!" Marlene was furious as she practically ran around the room. Mary's eyes followed her and then returned to Lily, sad and pitying.

"Marlene, not now," whispered Alice, just as Lily started to cry again. But as the girls all gazed at Lily, she stood up and looked at each of them individually.

Lily wiped her eyes and pushed her fiery hair out of her face. Her green eyes were ablaze, and she almost resembled Marlene for a moment.

"No. Let her yell, she's right. They're arrogant, selfish toe-rags. I don't know why I even let myself think anything else of James. As for Se-Snape," she pronounced the name in a stutter, "I should have seen it coming. I'm done with him. He chose the Dark Arts over me. And I'm done."

Lindsay looked at her best friend, emotions warring within herself. Sadness, anger, confusion, pride, and relief all fought for their say, but all that she could manage was a weak, "Ok."

The other four girls quickly glanced at Lindsay with confused expressions. It was Mary who first spoke up. "What do you mean Lindsay?"

The girl in question took a deep breath and let it out. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes. "I mean, ok, I'm with you. They hurt you, and if you're done with them, than so am I."

Lily walked over to her friend and put a hand on her shoulder. "I couldn't ask that of you, Lin. They are your family. At least," she amended, "Sirius and James are. You can't be done with Sirius when he's one of the closest things you have to family, and your only choice for a home at the moment is the Potter's."

Lindsay smiled as she looked upon her best friend, so strong willed and kind. "Thank you Lily. But I promise, I won't hang around them when you're with me. You won't even know I talk to them."

Lily nodded her head and sat down. "Then that's that. You girls want to go downstairs? I believe it's dinner time."

Mary jumped up, a frantic look on her face. "Oh! I promised Marcus I'd meet him at 6. Oh goodness, it's 6:10. I have to go!" Then she hesitated, adding, "If you're ok without me Lily?"

Laughing, Lily shooed her friend away as the others prepared to go down. A minute later Mary came back into the room with a frown on her face.

"Lily? Em, Snape is sitting outside the portrait hole, and he's threatening to sleep out there if you don't talk to him."

Lily's face drained of color, only to turn red in anger as she marched down the steps to confront her former friend.


	17. A Memory Stirs

_**Hi all! Sorry this took so long, I was on vacation...with no wifi. It was horrible. Hope you'll forgive me! ;) ENJOY!**_

* * *

Lindsay remained in the common room with Marlene and Alice, pacing back and forth. They had been waiting in silence for Lily to come back. It had taken all Lindsay and Alice had to keep Marlene from walking out and hexing Snape.

"You don't think he'd…do anything to her, do you?" Alice asked in a whisper.

The thought had been running through all of their minds, especially as more time elapsed. Lindsay shuddered to hear her fear voiced out loud. Something close to a growl escaped from Marlene's throat. Before Lindsay could move an inch, Marlene reached the portrait hole, but she didn't get the chance to confront Snape right then. Just as se reached out to open the door, Lily came from the other side. Lindsay and Alice raced to their friend, asking her a million questions a second.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Really." Lily smiled a sad sort of smile. "I told him to sod off."

As Lindsay and Alice led Lily back up to the dormitory, Marlene snuck out of the common room. Snape stood right outside and looked up hopefully at the sound of the door. His smile turned into a scowl when he saw that it was Marlene.

"What do you want?" and then, in a slightly softer voice, "Is Lily ok?"

But Marlene did not utter a single word. Abandoning her wand, she walked forward and punched Snape square in the nose. The greasy-haired boy clutched at his face as Marlene strode back into the common room.

* * *

Remus sat in his dormitory with his best mates. Frank had left to go find Alice. Peter had fallen asleep, and Sirius was sulking in a corner. James had ignored all of Sirius' proposed end-of-year pranks, choosing instead to stare at Lily's dot on the Marauder's map. It was all Remus could do to force himself to stay where he was and not go over and pore over the map with James. Wherever Lily was, Lindsay was sure to be today.

After looking over at James for the tenth time, Remus sighed and said, "I'm not sure what you think that's going to accomplish, Prongs."

James looked up, startled, and replied, "I don't understand."

Sirius could be heard muttering "Shocker" in the corner, but the others ignored him.

Remus rolled his eyes. "It's just that, there's not much you can do by staring at a map."

James looked at his friend, and Remus saw, clear as day, the heartbreak that he was going through. Lily's outburst had wounded his friend, and Remus knew why. There had always been a never-ending hope in James that someday Lily really would fall for him. But now...well he might have gone a bit too far this time, even if it was justified in his mind.

"What else can I do? She doesn't want anything to do with me, Moony. If you and your common sense can think of something that might fix this, any of this, please tell me."

But Remus stayed silent, thinking instead of how he could make things better between Lindsay and himself. The answer eluded him. He wanted to apologize, he wanted to trust her, to tell her about his secret, but he couldn't. Not yet. He wasn't ready for that. He wasn't ready for her to hate him.

* * *

Lindsay walked down the corridor towards the Hospital Wing after her last class of the year. Madame Pomfrey had offered to give her some books that she might be interested in. As she walked, her mind drifted to Remus. Ever since the day of the Hogsmeade trip, she had avoided him. He hadn't tried to approach her, which made her believe that he didn't want anything to do with her.

There was still something in her that wondered why. Why had he stood her up? And why hadn't he said anything about it? The questions confused her, and the answers couldn't be found lest she talk to Remus, which was something she couldn't bring herself to do.

She stopped by a window to look outside. The pale blue sky was littered with a few clouds, the now fading full moon low in the sky. Children could be seen spending their last day of term outside in the warm air, enjoying the view. Lindsay smiled as she watched them.

Just before she reached the door to the Hospital Wing, Lindsay heard quiet voices. Drawing closer, Lindsay realized that the voices she heard where James' and Sirius', and they sounded worried. She inched closer, not wanting to interrupt them but also not wanting to be seen.

"...poor bloke. Every month, can you imagine?" Sirius looked over his shoulder, and Lindsay could see Remus laying in one of the beds. _He is always so sick_, Lindsay thought.

"Must be horrible. And hiding it from everyone at the same time. I mean," James shook his head, "We should've noticed. Every month, full moon, cuts all over."

Lindsay drew back slightly, remembering a lesson from a few years prior. Their D.A.D.A. teacher had assigned them a paper on it. _"This creature is human, but not completely. After being bitten, an individual with lycanthropy will change once a month during each full moon. If removed from human company, it will attack itself…"_

The memory of Remus staring blankly at the professor, no emotion crossing his face flashed through her mind. She had wondered at the time why he showed no interest; he was always fascinated by that subject.

The pieces of the puzzle were clicking, and James' next words put the last piece in place.

"He shouldn't have to deal with this just because of Fenrir."

_Greyback_. A werewolf. Remus was a werewolf.


	18. Had to Be a Ravenclaw

Lindsay gasped and tripped over one of the statues outside of the Hospital Wing. Sirius and James jumped up, wands pointed towards her before seeing who it was. Sirius' eyes widened and James glanced back at Remus before rushing toward Lindsay. She tried to back away and act like she hadn't heard anything, but there was a wall behind her and she was sure the guilt was plain on her face.

"I em, was just coming to see Madame Pomfrey," Lindsay managed to squeak. As she looked at James and Sirius, Lindsay wondered why she was so scared-or guilty.

"Lin…" Sirius' face looked calm enough, but his eyes were scared. Not fear for himself, but fear for his friend. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Well, em, I don't know…"

James turned around again, but this time it wasn't to check on Remus. It was because he _heard_ Remus.

"Prongs? Padfoot? Wormtail? Do I hear you guys out there?"

James and Sirius shared a look before they split up, James going towards Remus. Sirius, to Lindsay's horror, grabbed her and pushed her down the corridor.

"Ok, I need to know how long you were there and if you heard James and I talking." Sirius stopped and turned on his heel so that he was looking directly down at Lindsay. After a minute of silence, he demanded, "Now. I need to know Lindsay."

But she stayed quiet. Not out of defiance or stubbornness, but out of confusion. Still shocked by what she had discovered, Lindsay was a little blown away and not in the right state of mind to tell her cousin that she knew about his best friend's being a werewolf. If she wanted to tell him. Because not saying anything was a serious possibility to her at that moment.

Sirius sighed and his anger seemed to melt away. "Lin, I know you're usually quiet and all, but this is important. You know I wouldn't ask if it weren't."

It was Lindsay's turn to sigh and with it came the words she had debated saying. "I was there for a few minutes and yes I heard you talking and I know about Remus and why he's in the Hospital Wing but not because I heard you say it I just figured it out." Taking a deep breath, she finished, "Please don't be mad."

Just then James jogged up to the pair and looked from Sirius, who looked a bit shocked, to Lindsay, who was staring intently at her feet. "What happened?"

"Well…" Sirius started, and then stopped to think for a moment. "I think that she just told me she knows about Moony's, uh, furry little problem."

James groaned and Lindsay gasped.

"Did she hear us?" James asked Sirius, choosing to ignore Lindsay for the moment, who was muttering, "...furry little problem...makes so much sense now."

"No. Well, yes, but...no?"

"Padfoot," he almost growled, "it is either yes or no. Not both."

"Well you see…" Sirius began to explain again, but Lindsay interrupted him.

"I heard you talking but I figured it out by myself." She glanced past him and tried to look into the Hospital Wing, but James moved so that her view was blocked.

"Prongs?" the three froze at the sound of Remus' voice.

James turned to Sirius to say something Lindsay couldn't quite make out and started off toward the Hospital Wing again, muttering what sounded like "had to be a Ravenclaw".

"Sirius? I just want to say, I won't tell anyone about him. I wouldn't do that."

Sirius smiled at her and said, "Of course not love. I know you won't. But if you do, you'll answer to James and me." In response to the scared look on her face, he hurried to say, "I just had to put it out there. I don't think you'd tell anyone."

"Good."

"Yeah, I am, aren't I?" He winked and she smacked his arm, and all the anger and tension was gone.

Meanwhile, James was sitting on the edge of Remus' bed in the Hospital Wing, trying to think of a way to break the news to his friend.

"Just tell me Prongs. What is it?" Remus could see that something was bothering James.

"Lindsay knows."

Remus stared at his friend in shock and anger. "Did you tell her?" he asked in a forced whisper.

James shook his head and answered, "She just figured it out. Sirius has her in the corridor. Do you uh, want to talk to her?"

Remus let out a bitter laugh. "As if she'll want to talk to me now." After a moment of silence, he sighed and agreed. "Yes, I suppose I'll have to talk to her sooner or later."

"That's the spirit," James muttered before walking back towards the doorway.


	19. A Secret Revealed

_**I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed and followed and favorited! This story has reached 3,000 views and I'm so happy and thankful! So thanks, again, and enjoy!**_

* * *

Lindsay walked toward Remus' bed in the Hospital Wing. He was situated in the middle of the room, the curtain pulled back and his back to her.

"Remus?" But he didn't turn around. Lindsay tried again to get his attention. "Remus, please look at me."

And this time, he did turn around, but the expression on his face made Lindsay almost wish she hadn't come in. Almost. Because the pain and guilt he was trying, and failing, to conceal broke her heart.

"Why?" he choked out.

"W-why what?" Lindsay blinked, not understanding him, even as he laughed, a bitter and sad sound.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be running away?"

Lindsay took a step forward but stopped as he flinched. "I wouldn't do that." Her voice came out in a whisper, and Remus was sure he had heard wrong until she spoke again. "I wouldn't leave a friend." She ducked her head, a blush already spreading across her cheeks.

"Some friend I am."

Lindsay looked up and him, a surprised and confused look on her face. "I don't understand."

"Ha! You know just as well as I do. The other day...Hogsmeade. I was an amazing friend at that moment, wasn't I? Not to mention that just being near me is a threat to your life. I'm a complete monster, and you shouldn't want to be friends with me."

"Remus…"

"No. I know what you're going to say. You don't care what I am, and that you'll still be my friend. I could barely stand it when James, Sirius, and Peter said that. Lily saying it was worse. I cannot put you in that danger. And I can't ask you to pretend. It isn't fair, and you deserve better."

Remus turned around, unable to look at her, knowing that he was driving her away. He had to. She deserved it, and he didn't deserve her. Only when he felt a hand on his shoulder did he turn around to see Lindsay standing next to him, tears running down her face.

"Do you know what I deserve?"

"You-"

"No. You don't. Because if you could think clearly for a moment, you would know that I deserve for you to believe me when I say I'm your friend. To believe me when I say that I am_ not leaving you_. I am not scared and I don't pity you. That is not to say I wish this hadn't happened to you, but that doesn't change my opinion of you. So when I ask you what I deserve, that should be your answer instead of 'better'."

Remus sat there, speechless. In front of him stood a girl he thought he knew, but he didn't. Not really. There was so much more to her than he saw, than anyone saw. And she was right. Who was he to tell her she was pretending? So he said the only thing he could think of. The only thing that made sense. "Ok."

"Ok? That's it?" Lindsay said incredulously.

"No, that's not it, but it's a start. You're right, you do deserve all that."

"Then…" Lindsay paused, trying to find the right words. "Em, then what's the problem?"

"I suppose there is none."

Smiling, Lindsay threw her arms around Remus' neck and stepped back very quickly, her face a bright red. Remus gave an awkward smile back, his face just slightly paler than hers.

"Er, ok. I think I'll just go then. I'm sure you need your rest." She took a few steps backwards before turning around and walking back out to the corridor. When she was a few steps past the door she turned around, having forgotten one last thing. "And Remus?"

He looked up at her reappearance. "Hm?"

"Make sure to write me this summer." And with that she was retreating again, back into the corridor, leaving a smiling Remus behind her.

* * *

Lily sat in her dormitory, checking and double checking her luggage to make sure it was packed correctly. Marlene and Mary were arguing over a shirt that seemed to belong to both of them, and Alice was saying good-bye to Frank. She never got the chance to say good-bye on the platform because of Frank's mother, Mrs. Longbottom. The woman would whisk him away immediately and glare at Alice if she attempted to say even one word to him.

"It's mine!" came a shout from the bathroom as Marlene stormed out and toward Lily. "Tell Mary that this is obviously my shirt!"

Lily opened her mouth to speak, but Mary cut in. "_Or_ you could tell Marlene that she is holding _my_ shirt and I would like to pack it now."

"It's mine!"

"No, it's mine!"

"It's-"

"HEY!" Lily stepped between them and grabbed the shirt. Holding it out to examine it, Lily sighed. "This is actually Alice's shirt."

Two "oh"s and a few "I'm sorry"s and everyone was back to normal. Or as normal as they got.

"OY!"

The girls turned towards their door as the shout had come from that direction. Marlene was the first out the door and down the steps. The only problem with that was that when she reached the bottom, she ran straight into Sirius.

"Just can't keep your hands off me, can you McKinnon?" Sirius smirked at her and she quickly backed away.

"You wish."

He was about to make another comment when the rest of the girls arrived at the bottom of the stairs, luckily stopping before running into their friends. James and Peter walked up behind Sirius. Lily made a noise of disgust and shoved past them all, closely followed by Mary and Marlene.

"Wait up! I didn't call up there for nothing. Lily, I need to discuss something with you." Sirius grabbed her arm as she walked past him. "And no, it's not about how handsome I am, even though that is a fascinating subject."

"Sod off Black. I don't want to be in the same room as you, let alone actually converse with you. I don't feel like losing brain cells today."

"It's about Lindsay."

Lily spun around and glared at him. "What about her?"

"I'll tell you when we get there."

"Get where?"


	20. The Curse that Almost Hit

**_Hello all! Thank you for your patience, it's been a long week. I hope you all like this chapter, and don't worry, I didn't forget how I ended the last chapter. Lily will get her answer. Thank you, and ENJOY!_**

* * *

_Lindsay,_

_How are you holding up staying with James and Sirius? I know personally that those two can be difficult to deal with sometimes. If they every get too annoying, let me know. I'll talk to them. I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Potter love you already, they're very nice, so I'm sure you're comfortable there. Just wanted to say that I hope you are having a good summer._

_-Remus_

Lindsay folded the letter up and gave the owl that delivered a smile. But instead of going away, it sat on her desk, looking patiently at her. It didn't want a smile. It wanted a letter to bring back.

"Fine." Lindsay muttered and began to search for a piece of paper and a pen. She didn't like using quills, so when she wasn't at Hogwarts she used pens. Her reply was short and to the point. She thanked him for asking and said that yes, her summer was nice so far, and yes, James and Sirius were getting on her nerves. Celeste wasn't far away from whacking them with the brooms they never seemed far from.

The owl took the note and flew out the window. Lindsay sat back and looked around her at the room she now had at the Potter's house. Well, house didn't exactly describe it correctly. It was more like a mansion. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had given Lindsay and Celeste their own rooms in the same hall as their own, as opposed to the guest rooms. They had made it very clear that the two girls were not guests, they were family, and were to be treated as such. This was their home now.

She heard a knock on her door, and then another, and another. And the the person kept knocking until Lindsay had reached the door and pulled it open, only to get hit in the face. Obviously Sirius hadn't been looking as he continuously knocked on her door.

Rubbing her forehead, Lindsay looked up at Sirius. "What do you want?"

"Prongs and I are going to go play Quidditch, want to come? We need another player."

Lindsay sighed. "How many times must I tell you that I do not, and cannot, ride a broom to save my life? Besides, if I played, the teams would be uneven."

Sirius shook his head, making his long black hair go in all directions. After carefully pushing said hair out of his face, Sirius replied, "Nope. Celeste is playing. Says she wants to try out for the team next year and needs practice."

"What?!" Lindsay frowned, trying to remember when Celeste had ever mentioned any interest in Quidditch. At all. Nothing came to mind.

"Kid's pretty good too. You coming?"

"No, I'm going to stay here, safely on the ground."

"Suit yourself. Though, you're not on the ground. You're in the air, really." Sirius walked out of the room, walking as if he were on a tightrope and about to fall.

Lindsay laughed and turned back to her desk and the book she had been about to open before she was interrupted by Remus' letter. After a few minutes of attempted reading, Lindsay realized that she couldn't focus. Not because it wasn't a good book, but because her thoughts had been returning to the same thing, the same incident, and the same curse she had almost been hit with.

(*flashback*)

_Sirius ran through the corridors, pulling an indignant Lily along with him. When they had almost reached the Hospital Wing, he stopped and stooped so he was looking into an almost invisible space in the wall, big enough for one person. In fact, there was a person there. Lindsay. Sirius reached out and Lindsay shrank further back before realizing that her friends were in front of her. She took his hand and stood up, and Lily saw the tear marks on her face._

_"What happened?" Lily whispered._

_"It was Bellatrix." Sirius' face had become dark, his eyes burning with a hatred for his family that he rarely showed. And this time, it was directed at his cousin, Bellatrix Black, soon to be Lestrange, as she was already engaged._

_"She, um, showed up after I left the H-hospital Wing. And, uh, she said some stuff about my Dad. I tried to walk away, but she…" But Lindsay stopped, and tears started running down her face again._

_Sirius continued for her. "She attacked. I was heading back towards the Hospital Wing, to see Remus. I heard the fight. Soon Rodolphus was with Bellatrix, and I jumped in. Bellatrix, well, she's always liked the Cruciatus Curse. She aimed it for Lindsay but I stopped her."_

_"That's-um, yes well that was very good of you Sirius." Lily looked back and forth between the two._

_"Lily, I don't think you understand. He stopped it. He jumped in front of me."_

(*end of flashback*)

The attack, Sirius' arrival, Lily's horror at what had happened, it all played through her head. Over and over again. She couldn't thank him enough, but every time she saw him, guilt rushed through her. If she hadn't been there, if she could have taken on Bellatrix, he wouldn't have been hurt. It was her fault, and she would never be able to forgive herself for it. The pain on his face when the curse hit was the worst sight she had ever seen. Cries of agony shut away from the inability to scream sent her to the floor, begging Bellatrix to stop what she was doing. But all the witch would do was laugh and send another curse. She and her fiance must have gotten bored with the two of them, for they simply walked away after that. Bellatrix had turned halfway down the corridor to say to the two on the floor, "This isn't over. Not even close."


	21. Letters and More Letters

_**Hello all! I'm so sorry that it's been so long! There is no excuse, none, and I apologize. I will try harder to update sooner. Someone mentioned that they were interested in getting to know Celeste, so I've added her to the list of people I write about. I hope you like her! ENJOY!**_

* * *

The end of the summer was fast approaching, and with it came the beginning of sixth year for Lindsay and her friends. It was a sunny Saturday morning when the owls arrived at the Potter's house. Charlus, James' father, looked up and smiled at his son when the owl landed in front of him. Sirius quickly wrestled James for his Hogwarts letter, having seen the seal on the front. Celeste was next, grabbing her envelope out of the boy's hands. Lindsay held out her hand, waiting for James to hand it over. He did this immediately, anxious to open the letter.

The four children sat there, reading their own lists. James', Sirius', and Lindsay's all informed them that they would need _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 6) by Miranda Goshawk, Advanced Potion-Making by Libatius Borage, Confronting the Faceless, A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration by Emeric Switch, _and_ Advanced Rune Translatio_n. Lindsay received another notice that she would be a prefect again. She looked up, smiling, to see James staring in shock at his letter. It dropped from his hand as he stood up. Everyone at the table stopped what they were doing and looked at James, concern on most of their faces.

"What is it James? What's happened?" Mrs. Potter stood up and took her son's arm. When no response came from his mouth, she grabbed the letter from the ground and quickly scanned it. Her posture noticeably relaxed, and a smile appeared on her face.

"Dorea, could you tell us what was in the letter?" Mr. Potter looked up at his wife, obviously trying to hid his curiosity.

"Our James has been given the spot of Quidditch Captain." Mrs. Potter looked around at all of us, the pride clear on her face.

"Prongs! This is great! No more insanely early practices anymore." Sirius looked even happier than James did at the news.

Lindsay smiled at her cousins and looked back down at her letter. Everyone sat in a comfortable silence as they continued eating breakfast. Until Celeste cleared her throat, politely at first and then more loudly until she had everyone's attention.

"What is it Celeste?" Lindsay looked at her little sister and saw a faint glint in her eye. This wasn't good.

"I also have an announcement. Like my darling sister here, who has neglected to say that she is yet again a prefect, I have been given a badge of prefect...ness." The smile on her face was as bright as it had been the day she received her Hogwarts letter.

The room exploded in congratulations, to both of the girls, but mostly for Celeste. Lindsay didn't mind, she had her moment last year. The only thing that worried her was Celeste. It was bound to dawn on her that neither of her parents were there to hear the news, and Lindsay mentally prepared herself to comfort her.

* * *

Lily sat in her dining room as Petunia circled her. Her older sister barely ever paid attention to her, and since her parents had died, Lily had appeared non-existent to 'Tuny'.

"So." Lily looked up, and her sister glared back. "What am I supposed to do with you?"

"What?"

"What. am. I. supposed. to. do. with. you? I can't have you running around here doing whatever you freaks do. Vernon will be spending a good amount of time here, you know, and I don't want you driving him off. Don't you have some freak friend you can stay with? Hm? Or maybe you don't. That wouldn't surprise me."

Petunia turned back toward the door, probably to make sure Vernon wasn't there, and Lily took that chance to wipe away the tear that had escaped. When her sister turned back toward her, satisfied that no one could overhear their conversation, Lily replied, "I do have a friend I can stay with. I just have to ask."

* * *

Celeste jumped onto her bed, tired from the day's events. What began as a wonderful day had quickly turned into an even better one. After breakfast, the boys had gone outside to play Quidditch. With James the captain, he had to be the best he had ever been, or so he said. The best part was, they invited her. Again. And James complimented her on her flying. It was the most fun she had had in ages, and she was positive she would make the House team this year.

As she pulled the covers over her, Celeste thought she heard an owl pecking at her window. Curious, she walked toward it and pulled it open. She looked out but didn't see a thing. During the day, the view from her room was the best. It looked out over a large field behind the mansion where the boys usually played.

Closing the window, she walked back toward her bed, but not before she heard a tap on her door. Rushing over, she pulled it open to see her sister standing in the hallway with a letter in her hands.

Dread filled her heart. The last two letters had been horrible and had changed her life forever. What would this one hold?

* * *

Remus sat outside his back door on the porch, reading Lindsay's latest letter. He had received his Hogwarts letter that very day, and wondered if the others had as well. Her letter gave no indication of whether they had or not, however.

He sat there, wondering how to answer. Instead of writing to Lindsay, he picked up a pen and paper, his preferred writing instrument during the summer, and began a letter to James, asking him if it would be alright for him to visit. He did so every year, but the fear that his friend would say no haunted him every time he asked.

Handing the letter to his owl, Remus watched as it flew off, into the night.


	22. Butterflies

_**A.N. I AM SO SORRY! I know it's been forever, and I really don't have an excuse. Except for writer's block. INSANE, SEVER WRITER'S BLOCK. I'm so sorry, and I know this is short, but I'm hoping to have the next one up by next weekend. School's out now so I'll have more time to write. Thank you for sticking with me, and without further adeau, ENJOY!**_

Lindsay looked at her sister as she stood at the door. "Celeste?"

Why did she look so scared as she replied, "What?"

"It's Lily. She's having some trouble...she's asked to stay with us. Do you think...well that is, do you think Mrs. Pot- I mean Aunt Dorea would be ok with that?" James' mother had insisted upon being called Aunt Dorea, claiming Mrs. Potter made her sound old.

Celeste visibly relaxed at this statement and a thoughtful look came to her face. "Well, I'm sure James would be ok with it. And I'm assuming she wouldn't want to be anywhere near him unless it was pretty bad?"

Lindsay nodded her head and added, "It's her sister. She basically just kicked her out. All of our other friends are busy."

"Well, I think Aunt Dorea would allow it." Celeste smiled. "Only one way to find out for sure, though."

James jumped up at the sound of an owl at his window. It was Remus' screech owl, and James knew what the letter would hold. He always looked forward to having Remus come over. With him and Sirius, the summer was always better. Peter was never able to spend more than a day, as his mother was very protective and didn't want him gone for more than 24 hours at a time. Except for being at school, of course. Even then, he was forced to return home almost every month.

He wrote a quick reply back, having already asked his parents when Remus could join them. Suddenly there was a knock on his door, and he opened it to find Lindsay standing there, clutching a letter.

"James?" she barely made any noise. After seeing him nod, she cleared her throat and continued, looking at her feet. "We, er, that is, Lily and I, well more Lily really…Lily's having trouble at home and, er, wants to know if she could stay here. Her sister has fairly kicked her out, and Alice, Marlene, and Mary are all away."

Lindsay looked back up to see James' eyes wide behind his glasses and a small grin on his face. She waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention.

"Oh, yes, of course. That is, I'll have to ask my parents."

"Oh James thank you! This means more than you can know." She ran toward her cousin and gave him a hug. He laughed and hugged her back.

"Of course Lily may come. And Remus too." Mrs. Potter smiled down at her son and niece. "It will be a bit crowded in here though. Practically like you're back at school already!"

The group sat in the Potter's main living room with James and Sirius next to Mr. Potter on the couch and the girls with Mrs. Potter on the other side of the room. Soon there would be two new additions. Mrs. Potter, as James predicted, had giver her consent to Lily and Remus' coming to stay with them. James smiled at his mother and Sirius was grinning, probably coming up with pranks to pull when Remus arrived. Or before Remus arrived. That was always a scary possibility.

Lindsay was excited to hear that Lily was allowed to come, and she excused herself to send an owl to her best friend. The only problem was...Remus. She hadn't known he was coming as well. Of course she was happy that she'd see him sooner than planned, but the thought also made her nervous. She could feel the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. They had been sending letters back and forth all summer. This would be the first time she saw him since that night at the Hospital Wing, and she wondered if he would still think she deserved better, despite what he had said.

Remus ran towards the window when he heard his owl trying to get his attention. He pulled open the window and, grabbing the letter, ripped it open to read what James had said. To his relief, James told him that he was welcome to come again. It turned out that Lily was coming to stay as well.

He would be seeing Lindsay again. Something in stomach told him that he was both excited and nervous about this fact.


End file.
